Daktronics to Produce Video Boards for Islanders’ New UBS Arena
Daktronics has been selected by UBS Arena at Belmont Park to supply the center ice videoboard and all the ribbon boards inside and outside the new $1.1 billion arena in Elmont, N.Y., when it opens next fall for the National Hockey League season of the New York Islanders.
The publicly traded firm (DAKT) currently partners with 17 NHL teams and 10 National Basketball Association clubs to supply multi-million-dollar LED boards in various arenas, including the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden in the New York metropolitan area.
“We’re pleased to partner with Daktronics to install not one, but 45 high-definition LED displays at UBS Arena,” said chief executive Tim Leiweke, of Oak View Group, which is overseeing the construction and operations of new NHL-only arenas on Long Island and in Seattle. “UBS Arena will become a global landmark entertainment and sports destination, and we look forward to welcoming guests to our premiere venue equipped with industry leading technology that captivates and delivers a first-rate atmosphere for all to enjoy.”
The Islanders played five seasons at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn before returning to the Nassau Coliseum, where they are expected to conclude their run at the end of the postseason. The Coliseum opened for hockey and basketball in 1972.
In addition to UBS Arena and the Seattle Kraken’s rebuilt Climate Pledge Arena, Oak View is overseeing multiple arena construction projects at the same time, including a 10,000-seat minor-league building in Coachella Valley, adjacent to California’s Palm Desert, and a 5,000-seat building for ice hockey on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.
The Islanders’ new building will be ready by November, despite a two-month halt in construction last year caused by the coronavirus. The project will ultimately include a 315,00-square foot retail district adjacent to the famous Belmont racetrack. It projected to be home to 150 annual events, including a slate of concerts.
The video board at UBS Arena, which will hang far above center ice, features 12 LED displays. The four main boards are expected to approximately measure 26 feet high by 34.5 feet wide. The two ribbon boards circling the arena should encompass 2,000 feet in length.
“UBS Arena will engage visitors at every turn. From the moment they arrive outside, as they enjoy the event and as they prepare to leave, our systems will be part of the experience,” said Daktronics president and chief executive Reece Kurtenbach. “We’re excited to deliver the LED displays for one of the country’s premier sports and entertainment venues and are happy to be working with UBS Arena to make this installation a reality. As an American based company, we look forward to the opportunity to support them and this project for years to come.”
Daktronics, established in 1968 as a U.S. company based in Brookings, S.D., not only supplies its LED boards to basketball and hockey arenas, but their products are installed in 21 of the 30 current Major League Baseball parks and 18 of the 30 National Football League stadiums.
The company is worth $400 million and was trading Thursday morning on the stock market at $6.38 a share.
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